House Concurrent Resolution 21

(As Adopted by House)

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION COMMENDING AND RECOGNIZING THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF THE MISSISSIPPI CHAPTER OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS AND CONGRATULATING THE ACADEMY ON THE MOST AUSPICIOUS OCCASION OF ITS 80TH ANNIVERSARY OF SERVING AS THE STATE'S PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATION OF PEDIATRICIANS TO BE ACKNOWLEDGED ON MARCH 25, 2014.

WHEREAS, on March 25, 2014, the Mississippi Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics will celebrate the most auspicious occasion of its 80th anniversary of serving as the State of Mississippi's professional organization of pediatricians; and

WHEREAS, the first Mississippi State Pediatric Society was organized 80 years ago in 1934, by founding members: Drs. Noel C. Womack, Guy Verner and Harvey Garrison of Jackson; Drs. Franklin Gail Riley and George Lamar Arlington of Meridian; Dr. Joe E. Green of Laurel; Drs. W.P. Robert and Guy C. Jarrett of Vicksburg; and Dr. R.E. Wilson of Greenville; and

WHEREAS, the first Mississippi pediatrician certified by the American Board of Pediatrics was Dr. Franklin Gail Riley in 1929, who practiced in Meridian from the year of his certification until his death in 1967; and

WHEREAS, the first Chairman of Pediatrics at the University of Mississippi Medical School was Mississippi native, Dr. Blair E. Batson, who served from the medical school's founding in 1955 until 1989; and

WHEREAS, under the visionary leadership of Dr. Batson, the first state Children's Hospital was built at UMMC in 1968, which came upon the heels of Dr. Batson making Mississippi history and establishing state precedent by initiating the first racially integrated patient wards in Mississippi in 1956, and recruiting the first African-American resident at UMMC, Dr. Aaron Shirley, in 1965; and

WHEREAS, the Mississippi State Pediatric Society became an official chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics in 1956 with a founding purpose, "to foster the improvement of the care for the children of Mississippi, to strive to strengthen the health services for the children in the state, and to cooperate with and further strengthen the policies of the American Academy of Pediatrics"; and

WHEREAS, the Mississippi Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics has successfully advocated for many legislative initiatives to improve child health and decrease child deaths in the state, including: The Infant Car Restraint Law; raising the state driver's licensing minimum age from 15 to 16; requiring child death investigations of sudden deaths; creation of the Child Death Review Panel; the Healthy Schools Act; the Primary Seatbelt Law; The Child Booster Seat Law; Teen Graduated Drivers Licensing for 16 year olds; the ATV Helmet and Safety Law; and the Child Sexual Abuse Law; and

WHEREAS, in 1997 the state-of-the-art Batson Children's Hospital was built under the leadership of the second UMMC Chairman of Pediatrics, Dr. Owen B. Evans, and was subsequently expanded in 2004 and 2011; and

WHEREAS, during Dr. Evans' tenure as chairman, the pediatric faculty at UMMC expanded to 110 and the number of pediatric subspecialties increased to 19; and

WHEREAS, currently under the chairmanship of Dr. Rick Barr, the Division of Pediatric Medicine has 41 pediatric residents and 13 medicine/pediatric residents in the training program; and

WHEREAS, because of the academy's far-reaching influence and the premiere reputation of UMMC, there are now 336 pediatricians in the State of Mississippi serving communities across the state as primary care providers for children; and

WHEREAS, the health of Mississippi's children has continued to improve during the past 80 years of pediatric care in Mississippi; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Randy Henderson of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, is the current President of the Mississippi Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Dr. Jonathan Shook is the vice president, and Dr. Kathryn Schneider is the secretary-treasurer; and

WHEREAS, it is the policy of this Legislature to commend the excellence of such esteemed and highly revered professional associations as the Mississippi Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, which have contributed to the increased presence of pediatricians throughout the state and have advanced pediatric medicine well beyond the bounds of scientific research:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE SENATE CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby commend and recognize the accomplishments of the Mississippi Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics and congratulate the academy on the occasion of its 80th anniversary of serving as the state's professional organization of pediatricians, to be acknowledged on March 25, 2014.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be furnished to the Mississippi Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics and to the members of the Capitol Press Corps.